Sonic The Hedgehog: Metalic Chaos
by SetoKaibutsu
Summary: After the events of Sonic Adventure 2
1. A peaceful night

"Aargh, I Can't Believe This!". The man clad in a red jacket and black pants slapped the palm of his gloved hand against his forehead and gritted his teeth for a moment. The blue hedgehog smirked a waved a finger mockingly, "What in our history would make you think you could win Eggman?". Eggman frowned and pulled his hand from his face. Adjusting his glasses, then grasping the controller firmly in his hand, he leaned back on the couch and sighed. "Well our history is a bit different than doing battle in an electronic game", he said with slight remorse.  
  
Sonic the hedgehog laughed and nodded, turning his attention back to the television screen. He gave Eggman a quick glance and questioned, "So, do you want to try again?". Eggman gave a smirk and nodded, "I can still catch up."  
  
Over in an opposing corner, the orange fox Miles was sitting cross- legged, facing away from everyone else. His hands moved busily as he grabbed various instruments; he was obviously hard at work on some device. A loud pop made him jump slightly and he turned around and gave the kitchen a glance; a pink hedgehog and yellow rabbit where busy as well, only they where busy cooking. Amy laughed and turned the heat down on the stove. Wiping her forehead with the back of her gloved hand, she sighed, then smiled. Cream the rabbit gave a soft giggle; the heat on the oven had been too hot and the pot on the stovetop had over-heated, making a loud sound as the top had popped off: the sound Miles had heard.  
  
Miles closed his eyes for a moment and let out a yawn. As he opened his eyes again, he gave the house a quick glance. He went from Amy and Cream in the kitchen cooking, to Sonic and Eggman sitting at the couch facing the television; Eggman had apparently just lost again, because he had let out a curse. Miles' mouth gave a slight twitch as he saw the red echidna and white bat sitting in another couch which faced away from Miles and towards a second television. Since he was young, he let out a silent gag; Knuckle's and Rouge's heads looked a bit too close. Turning back around, he looked down to his current project and smiled proudly. To someone that was not familiar with technology, it looked like a simple metal box with a thick outer shell and a lot of little circuits and computerized pieces. The most interesting part would have been the seven diamond-shaped holes in the center; each hole was about six inches wide and about five inches deep.  
  
Nodding to himself, Miles reached down and grabbed a wrench that he had left on the floor. He spun the wrench around in his fingers for a moment, before latching it on to a loose bolt and turning it to tighten the bolt up. He let out an "eep" and jumped up again; Eggman had just let out a very loud curse. It had appeared to startle everyone, because Amy had let out a scream and had dropped a potato she was preparing. Knuckles head fully popped up over the back of the couch and stared over at where Sonic and Eggman where sitting. His eyes where narrowed and he was frowning, "Can you guys keep it down over there? Some of us are trying to watch a movie". With that, his head dropped back down so only the top of it was showing over the back of the couch.  
  
Eggman glanced over to where Knuckles was and grimaced. "Watching a movie? Yah, right." He thought as he watched the top of Knuckles and Rouge's heads go closer again. He blinked behind his circular glasses, then quickly swerved his head back to the television; Sonic had continued to play when he had looked away. He growled and began pushing buttons on his controller rapidly, "You sneaky Hedgehog, we'll see who wins This time!".  
  
Eggman suddenly laughed inside as he saw the screen more clearly; They had reached a puzzle. With an IQ of 300, Eggman had this level in the bag. As Sonic had just figured out what the puzzle wanted him to do, Eggman had already completed more than a quarter of it. Sonic gritted his teeth and leaned forward, pressing buttons more furiously in an attempt to catch up. Eggman simply smirked and continued on, pressing buttons at a calm speed. He was making every move with precision and perfection. As Eggman reached the end, Sonic was still only around the middle. Eggman let out a laugh and took his left hand off of the controller, pointing a gloved index finger at Sonic. "You loose Spike-Boy", he mocked. Sonic growled for a second, but then smirked, "Well, since I've beaten you twenty-five out of twenty-six games, I thought I'd throw you a bone. Eggman furrowed his brow and quickly shot Sonic the bird, before placing both hands on the controller and giving the television his attention.  
  
A sudden whistle came form the kitchen as steam escaped a pot on the stovetop. Cream quickly ran over and turned the heat on that burner off, and Amy smiled and waved a hand up in the air, "Dinner time everyone!". 


	2. The doubtful morning

The blue hedgehog rubbed his closed eyes with gloved fists and yawned widely, stretching his arms out. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he slowly opened his eyes drowsily as he walked out of his bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. The clang of various bottles rang out softly as he closed the refrigerator door and popped open a soda he had just retrieved from the cold depths.  
  
Taking a gulp, he wiped the wetness off of his mouth with the back of his free hand and proceeded to the living room. Sonic yawned again as he walked up behind the orange fox sitting with his legs spread out on the floor. A large metal box stood at an awkward position in-between the fox's legs, one of his hands holding it in the position while the other turned a wrench inside of the box.  
  
Sonic rubbed his eyes with his free hand and kneeled down next to Miles, peering into the box to see what the fox was doing. "How long until this thing is done anyway?"  
  
Miles closed his eyes and sighed, pulling his hand with the wrench from the innards of the box and wiping a drop of sweat from his hair. "I thought it would be done last night, but every time I think I've finished; A whole new problem presents itself." The orange fox opened his eyes and reached his hand back in to the box, latching the wrench on a loose bolt and tightening it more. ". and this is just the shell. I still have to upload the software in to it." Miles looked over to Sonic, who nodded slowly. Miles stared at Sonic for a moment, before returning his attention to the box.  
  
"But isn't Eggman Suppose to program and upload the software?" Sonic inquired. Miles nodded slowly in response.  
  
"Yes, he is. But this whole thing is turning out to be more of a hassle than we had originally predicted." Miles finished turning the bolt and pulled his arm out of the box, gently tossing the wrench aside and setting the box down. He put his hands on the ground behind him to hold himself up as he leaned back. ". I'm starting to wonder if this is as good of an idea as it seemed to be when we came up with it."  
  
Sonic bit his lip and looked away for a moment, before nodding in recognition. "I think we are all having our doubts about this Miles." Sonic closed his eyes and sighed, "But what else can we do? It seems every time we turn around, the Chaos Emeralds are causing some sort of trouble. Someone or something is always finding a way to harness their power, and then use it for their own personal gain."  
  
"But Sonic. all those times, it has been Eggman behind it." Miles argued. "Now that Eggman has recognized the error in his ways, we don't have to worry about him going after that power any more. so, who is left to try and use them?"  
  
Sonic opened his eyes and looked back to Miles. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the Chaos incident," Miles opened his mouth to speak, but Sonic cut him off. "-I know that Eggman was working to get the Chaos Emeralds for Chaos, but, you have to realize that Chaos would have come after the emeralds itself eventually." Sonic gritted his teeth slightly; he didn't enjoy thinking about these things. "I mean, look how easily Chaos got all of the emeralds in the end. We were just really lucky that it didn't drain all of their energy." Sonic looked right in to Mile's eyes and stared at him with a stern look. "No Miles. they have to be locked away, and Never found again."  
  
Mile's ears sank down in defeat and he looked down towards the metal box in front of him. "But Sonic," he began, "What if the Chaos Emeralds are more bound to nature than we think.? If we do this, it could cause some sort of chain-reaction that might really mess the earth up. Maybe even more than the earth." Miles stared at the seven emerald-shaped holes inside of the box. Colored glass circled the outline of each emerald's place; each colored slot matched the color of the emerald itself.  
  
Sonic reached his free hand up and scratched behind one of his ears. "I see Knuckle's little speech has gotten to you." Sonic grimaced.  
  
Miles looked to Sonic, his expression very upset, "But Sonic, what if Knuckles is right?"  
  
Sonic shook his head slowly, "It's more of a risk to leave the emeralds out where anyone can get their greedy hands on them." Sonic slowly raised his soda can up and took a sip, then continued, "And besides, it's not like we're getting rid of them completely. If something starts to go wrong, we can always retrieve them and scatter them again." Sonic blinked and looked over his shoulder; Knuckles was leaning against the wall behind them, his arms crossed and his familiar stern look upon his face.  
  
Knuckles un-crossed his arms and raised a gloved fist; his signature spiked knuckles pointing out towards Sonic and Miles. "I don't see why we are even bothering. It seems like the military is keeping the emeralds all in-check." Sonic nodded slowly; but didn't agree in the least.  
  
After Sonic thwarted Dr. Eggman's attempt at world-domination using the space colony Ark's "Eclipse Cannon", the seven Chaos Emeralds had been left on the space colony. The military known as "G.U.N." had been relieved of their authority and the new military unit "G.U.A.R.D." had been given complete freedom with the space colony, as well as all other military issues for the government. G.U.A.R.D. had completely locked down the space colony, and stored all seven Chaos Emeralds onboard. G.U.A.R.D. shuttles were sent to the colony at specific times to re-supply the colony, and switch out staff, but otherwise the colony was off limits to anyone.  
  
Sonic took another sip of his soda, "Look at how easily all of us got around the colony, and there where military units everywhere. And remember, we went with almost no preparation. Imagine how easy it would be for someone who planned the entire operation out before-hand?" The hedgehog narrowed his eyes; this was his view on the subject, and he felt very strongly about it.  
  
Knuckles let out a sigh and dropped his arms to his sides. He nodded slowly and looked down at the metal box. "I guess that you're right Sonic. I just hope that we aren't causing more disaster by trying to prevent that very thing." He closed his eyes and turned away, walking down the hall and back to his room.  
  
Sonic slowly stood up and gave Miles a gentle pat on the back with his free hand. "Don't worry about it Miles, it will all work out." The hedgehog smiled and took a gulp of his soda, proceeding to walk over to the couch in front of the television with the gaming system.  
  
Miles sighed as he heard the electric hum of the television warming up. He closed his eyes and thought to himself for a moment, "Something about this isn't right." 


	3. Uncertain Horizon

Notes: Hello. I know I haven't written in a while. I tried writing this chapter another way, and I decided I didn't like how it had turned out, so I discarded that and sort of fell into a slump for a little while. Well, I finally felt like I could start cranking this out again, so I sat down and BAM! Here it is! I hope that it is as good as everything I've written so far, I look forward to your comments on it.  
  
In response to Espina Oscura, the reason everyone has been nodding is simply put that my vocabulary for different looks and such is still rather small. As I write more hopefully more words will present themselves. Secondly, why I and everyone in the story calls Tails "Miles". Honestly, I just wanted to call him Miles due to the fact no-one does. Also I guess my legitimate excuse would be that Tails just finally decided he wanted to be called by his real name, but I honestly don't have any reason besides my own personal preference. Thank you for commenting on that though, I do intend to try and broaden my vocabulary. Until next time, Thanks for reading and I hope you all find your way back to my little story again!  
  
Sincerely, John Kelly  
  
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The two men laughed as they strolled down the walkway towards the elevator in the steel-framed tower. "Yea, so, then the bar tender says to the guy..." Their voices where cut off as the metal doors closed and the large pod started to slowly rise up the steel structure to the docking level. The elegant twilight frame of the space shuttle shone blindingly against the sky as from the shadows, sea-blue eyes stared out from under a large cap. The short cloaked figure cautiously stepped out into the light; all that was visible besides the figure's clothes was a short furry white snout protruding out from underneath the lip of the cap on his head. Nodding, the figure quickly shot off towards where the elevator had been before. Taking a right, the figure rounded the tower until he was on it's right side.  
  
Looking up to the docking level, the white and orange furry fox face of Miles Prower shined in the bright sunlight. Tossing the back of his cloak up, he pushed his two fox tails out from under it and leaned forward before kicking off. Without any thought, his natural instinct kicked in and his two tails quickly began to rotate at an alarming speed, swiftly turning themselves into a makeshift helicopter rotor that drug the fox's small body up into the air.  
  
Grabbing on to a railing, Miles' tails began to decrease speed and he hopped down on to the metal panel floor of the docking level. Forcing his tails to stop, he pulled the cloak back over them and made a dash for the opened door of the shuttle. Swishing inside, he quickly dove down to the cargo level: which he knew was there.  
  
The entire plan had been thought out months ahead of time, but only the night before had it been ready to go. To avoid interference, only Miles and Eggman themselves knew the details of this important mission.  
  
Sighing and tossing off his cap, Miles threw off the cloak around him and un-strapped the backpack he had been carrying. Unzipping it quickly, he pulled out a large flat metal object with four red dome-shaped lights on one side. Smashing the side of the object with the red lights on it against the wall, he hit a button on the other side and the object immediately locked to the wall and un-folded into a chair. Miles nodded and hopped up into it, strapping himself in. "It'd be one heck of a ride if I didn't have this..." he thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he sighed and waited for liftoff.  
  
"What!?" The Blue Hedgehog yelled out at the man clad in red. Eggman simply adjusted his glasses and turned away.  
  
"He had to go alone, it would have been too complicated with more than one person." Eggman said simply.  
  
"But why Miles? We could've sent someone else! He's just a kid!" Sonic argued angrily.  
  
Eggman furrowed his brow. "And you aren't? Listen Sonic, Miles was the one who needed to go because he is the one who knows the most about the layout of the station. He is also the smallest of us, and has the most maneuverability of any of us. He is the only candidate, and he couldn't have six other people trailing him; there would be no way to maintain secrecy with such a group." Eggman stared out through the window of the house and sighed. "Don't think I wouldn't of gone, but Miles is simply more secretive than I am. I would be discovered in seconds. Miles should be able to make it through the entire mission without being seen once."  
  
"Should? SHOULD!?" Sonic Roared. "And what happens if he gets caught!?"  
  
Eggman sighed, "Then... we go and fetch him, then figure out a new plan. Any Questions?" The scientist scowled and strode off to his facility under the house to check on Miles' status.  
  
The last of the crew had already departed, and everything was quiet as Miles stumbled out of the Shuttle's docking hatch, his hand on his stomach and his cheeks puffed slightly. Nauseated from the trip, he hid behind some supply barrels to catch his breath. Although it had not been his first trip to space, that did not mean he enjoyed the ride in the least. Sighing deeply, he looked around the barrels to the area beyond. "Well... I'm here." He thought to himself. Gulping, he made sure his backpack was strapped on tight and that his cloak and cap where holding on before he bolted out of his hiding place and into the depths of the space colony ARK. 


	4. The Silent Terror

Notes: Yush! I updated quicker than I updated the last chapter, I've been in a writing mood a lot more lately, and plus since you all said you wanted me to, I decided I'd try and write as much as I could! ^^; Anywayz, I'm honestly not entirely sure where this will go next, I only have select points in this story planned ahead of time, the rest of it I come up with as I go. Well, I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you for your support and comments, I appreciate it all very much. ^-^  
  
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The control terminal shook as the underside of the blue hedgehog's fist landed on it in fury. "Where Is He!?" Sonic demanded.  
  
The man simply adjusted his glasses and pressed a few keys. "I told you, Miles has entered a heavily-shielded area, we cannot track his movements that deep into the colony." Eggman sighed and turned around in his chair, looking at a screen displaying the seven Chaos Emeralds, small bits of data scrolling down the sides.  
  
Sonic fumed and turned around, walking out of the room, enraged. "I can't just sit idly by and watch my best friend commit suicide."  
  
Eggman groaned and turned back to the screen displaying Mile's latest data; now hours old. "You Can't even watch him..." he said silently, leaning back in his chair and staring at the metal ceiling of the control room.  
  
Sonic slammed the door of the refrigerator shut and cracked open the beer can he had withdrawn. Falling back onto the couch, he took a large gulp and closed his eyes. A realization came to his mind, and he winced; Miles wasn't coming back. Sonic set the beer can down on the end table and laid back, trying to forget it all.  
  
A light "pat pat" against the metal flooring, heavy boots clanking as they walked towards the small hall lined with various storage units and equipment. Rounding the corner, the man squinted his eyes against the neon lightings all down the hallway; no-one was there. He shook his head and walked off; he could've sworn he had heard something.  
  
Rolling out from under a storage unit, the orange fox panted in exhaustion; He'd been on the run for hours now. "ARK has more security than we predicted... nearly ten-times as much" Miles thought to himself as he caught his breath, before turning around and dashing off down the narrow hallway.  
  
Stopping where the hall exited into another, Miles pulled out a small electronic map and viewed his current position. "Excellent" he smiled. "I'm really close, shouldn't take me more tha-" His words where cut off by a piercing siren which suddenly began to emit from behind him, swirling red lights soon following. Rounding, to his horror, Miles found himself face to face with a patrol robot. Yelping, he turned and fled in the direction he needed to go. Running through several different halls, he could hear the robot keeping up with him, if not gaining.  
  
Miles screamed and jumped as the sudden mechanical clang of a chain gun suddenly erupted from behind him; The robot was the source. Bullets began madly ricocheting off of the metal walls, objects along the hallway where broken into thousands of pieces, some turned to dust, as the seemingly infinite amount of bullets rained from the robot's gun, still in close pursuit of Miles. Jumping, kicking off of the wall, spinning his tails wildly, Miles flew forward through the halls, slowly putting distance between him and the robot, although he could have gone much faster was he not swerving and going in ever-which-way to not get hit.  
  
The hallway suddenly opened up into a rectangular room which's roof was about a hundred or so feet high. Looking around, Miles saw large storage containers, but no other exit: He was trapped. Looking up, he saw a doorway up close to the ceiling; but he was so tired out from flying he couldn't get the strength to fly that high, he would fall back down about half-way up. Frantically he searched the room for something, and his eyes widened as he was rewarded. A large red spring lay dormant in the corner of the room. Miles was not sure how these things got where they did, but all he knew was that they had come in handy for Sonic and him throughout their adventures. Flying forward at top-speed, Miles turned so his right shoulder would impact, and rammed full-force into the spring. He felt the cool air blast over him as he was sent flying, the spring quickly delivering him to the opening those hundred feet up. Propelling his tails, he gave himself a push forward and landed in the opening.  
  
Looking forward, he saw a large blast-door; it was unlocked. Running forward, the door quickly un-sealed and opened. Stopping on the other side, he blinked; he was there. The narrow metal walkway extended out to the platform in the center of the floorless and ceiling-less circular room. It was nearly pitch-black; nothing was on. But Miles could make out the faint glow of seven different colors, all aligned in a purple central pillar which was lined by computer terminals. "The Eclipse Cannon..." Miles mouthed slowly. This was the device that had nearly destroyed the world when Eggman had teamed up with the Black and Red Hedgehog known only as "Shadow".  
  
Carefully walking across the narrow walkway, Miles thought back to when they had raided the Space Colony to stop Eggman from completely destroying the planet. In the end, what seemed to be the Real "Shadow" emerged, and they had all been forced to work together to stop it. Although the Black and Red Hedgehog had died in the end, the teamwork that they had all endured changed everyone's attitude to one-another. Eggman quickly gave up his evil ways and began working to re-pay the world for all that he had done to it. Rouge the Bat; a white Bat obsessed with jewels so much she was a treasure hunter, had taken a sudden liking to the red Echidna by the name of Knuckles.  
  
Eggman and Miles had quickly taken a liking to each other due to their un-surpassed technological abilities, and Sonic had seemed to enjoy having Eggman around to poke fun at.  
  
Staring down into the seemingly infinite blackness, Miles sighed; he wished Sonic was here right now, or even Eggman. Closing his eyes tightly, Miles worked up his courage, and walked forward to the terminal that held the seven Chaos Emeralds.  
  
Taking off his pack, Miles set it down and un-zipped it. Pulling out a small box, he tugged at the seven connecting wires and pulled forth seven large metal, emerald shaped, devices. He picked the whole mess of an item up and moved closer to the Chaos Emeralds. The emeralds' power was constantly monitored by the "G.U.A.R.D." military staff on ARK to make sure that the emeralds stayed where they where.  
  
However, due to the sheer velocity of each emerald's power, the sensors would continue to read that the emeralds where in their correct location for a few seconds after they where removed; that's what Mile's machine was for. Mile tapped a button, and the small box lit up. Standing up, holding one of the emerald-shaped items in his hand, Miles removed a Chaos Emerald and replaced it with the item. The small screen on the box lit up and an energy bar appeared, showing how much time was left before the machine ran out of energy. Miles repeated this until all seven Chaos Emeralds had been replaced. Placing the emeralds in his backpack, Miles looked down at the remaining power; Five hours worth. "That should be enough..." Miles said to himself, zipping up his pack and tossing it over his shoulder.  
  
The machine Miles had hooked up to the Chaos Emerald's slots was designed to produce energy waves with the same wavelength and velocity of the Chaos Emeralds. However they weren't exactly the same, since it was impossible to re-create, or make a 100% copy, of the actual Chaos Emeralds. Eggman or Miles might have been able to make a machine capable of telling the difference, but Miles doubted G.U.A.R.D. had that kind of technology. Turning around, Miles began to walk back across the walkway and to the blast door. Gulping, he took a step forward; what if that robot was still out there? Or worse? Miles closed his eyes and whined, standing still for a moment. Working up his courage, he took another step and the door opened. Opening his eyes, he took a step, the began propelling his tails around, shooting out of the door and into the towering room. 


	5. Shooting Star’s Climax

Notes: Eureka! I actually figured out what to do next lol! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this, it's what will set up a lot of other stuff. Thanks for reading, enjoy! ~ John Kelly  
  
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The air rushed around him and everything was a blur as he spiraled downward, loud explosions blasting holes everywhere. The Orange Fox spiraled his tails and propelled himself forward, pulling himself out of the dive and shooting into the hallway ahead. The patrol robot that had seemingly seized to know of Mile's existence on ARK after he had entered the room with the Eclipse Cannon was now chasing after him again; it had only taken the robot a few seconds to open fire on Miles after he had dashed out through the blast door, and now it was barreling after him, taking corners just as fast as he was.  
  
Miles tried to lose it, suddenly turning and going up and down random staircases, but the robot wasn't deterred at all and never lost any ground on him. Miles whipped out his map and made a sharp turn to the right, barely avoiding a barrage of bullets that causes an explosion further down the hallway he had just turned out of, sending flames bursting past the hallway he was now almost across. Coming towards the end of the hall, Miles fell to his feet and began to run, propelling himself forward with his tails.  
  
The hallway suddenly opened up into a massive hanger, and Miles skidded to a halt, terror-stricken; the room was filled with G.U.A.R.D. robots and personnel, who seemed to have been waiting for him. However, seemed was the key-word in Mile's mind, for all of the units had seemed just as startled by him as he was by them. The ones closest to him rounded on him, pointing their rifles at his chest and demanding he threw down his pack; Miles saw the large mech. units facing an opposing blast door, and gulped. Slowly reaching for his pack, he whimpered.  
  
Miles let out a cry as the Blast Door on the opposing side of the room erupted in a massive explosion, G.U.A.R.D. personnel where thrown all over, and the mechs near the blast where knocked down on their sides, quickly squirming to get back up as a short black figure began to walk through the flames and emerged in the room. Mile's eyes opened wide in shock, and his first reaction was to yell out to his best friend Sonic. But he caught himself and stared in awe; the figure of the hedgehog, standing there, staring into the room, cloaked concealing its body, was completely blackened out. Whether naturally, or just an effect of the thick bright flames, Miles wasn't sure. But the bright red eyes of the hedgehog told Miles that it was NOT his best friend.  
  
Rounding, Miles heard guns begin to fire, random assaults from missiles, automatic weaponry and laser-cannons rang out, but where all silenced by one defining blast, the force of which was so great that it knocked the small fox to the ground, his pack falling off and sliding across the metal flooring. Groaning, Miles tried to pull himself up, and he saw the figure slowly advancing towards him. His ears made out the distinct sound of metal clanking against metal, and he realized the cloak the figure was wearing was made entirely of chain links. As the figure was about half- way through the room, it's head turned as a large Blast Door opened on the side of the room and massive amounts of G.U.A.R.D. personnel and robots opened fire on the figure.  
  
Shooting into the air, one of the figure's arms thrust out and its hand opened. A sudden flash and blast of energy emitted from the hedgehog's palm, causing another massive explosion in front of the personnel, sending their bodies through the air like dolls before the figure shot through the flames and smoke into the troops. Miles heard screams and yells, guns being fired, more explosions. Before he could get up and find his pack, someone grabbed him and began to run. Miles struggled, but before he could get away, a small door closed behind him and the man holding him, and he felt a sudden burst of acceleration.  
  
The man dropped Miles to the floor and ran through another door. Miles ran to the door he had been carried through and saw the space colony slowly moving away; he was in an escape pod. Staring in awe, he watched red flames burst out from a small area of the colony, pieces of ARK breaking off around the flames before a white flash followed by a delayed burst, caused the entire area of ARK to explode in a massive ball of light; everything was incinerated. Miles let out a cry as he realized the Chaos Emeralds where still in his pack, which had been knocked off in the hanger. Hitting himself against the metal door, staring helplessly through the thick glass, Miles screamed to get out; even though there was nothing he could do from here. Tears ran down his cheeks as it sank in that he had failed his mission. "Everyone was depending on me!!" He screamed, hitting his small fists against the door. Pressing his forehead up to the glass, Miles stared out in sorrow.  
  
His eyes suddenly shot open and he stared in fear as he saw seven trails of colors begin to fall towards the earth, red lines mixed with the colors of the objects themselves formed as they plummeted through the atmosphere towards Planet Earth.  
  
The door slammed against the wall; the doorknob breaking through the drywall as the man ran outside before stopping dead in the center of the yard and staring up into the sky, the sun reflecting off of his glasses as he watched streaks of blue and red traverse the sky, traveling at thousands of miles per hour as they headed on crash-courses to all different corners of the world. Eggman simply stood still as the blue hedgehog, red echidna and white bat came running out, also immediately staring up at the streaks in the heavens. Sonic's teeth gritted and his hand formed a fist before he stormed back into the house. Knuckles sighed, lowering his head. Rouge copied him, taking his gloved hand and she patted him on the back, slowly looking back into the house grimly for any signs of Sonic.  
  
Eggman slowly lowered his head before adjusting his glasses and turning to the two. Pausing for a moment, he swallowed, and then began walking inside. "Gather everyone in the lab... we have to track these things down before anyone else does..." With that, he closed his eyes and continued into the house, turning a corner and walking down the stairs to his lab.  
  
Plates came crashing down as Sonic yelled out in fury, bashing his fist into the refrigerator door. Amy and Cream where holding each other in the living room, tears streaming down their faces as they wept. Sonic slammed his fist into the refrigerator again and fell forward, holding himself up and staring at the floor, his teeth gritted together as tight as they would go.  
  
"... Tails..." Sonic slowly said through his rage. "... Why did you go...?" He closed his eyes, tears falling down to the floor as he brought himself up and threw his head back "WHY DID YOU GO!?" 


	6. Realization of Survival

Notes: Sorry! It has been awhile since I updated and I wanted to apologize. I've been doing a lot of drawing lately, and with the last few weeks of school looming I've had my mind on work and such. Anyway, I should hopefully update again soon, and since it's the weekend I'll probably get in another chapter in the next day or so. Hope you all are continuing to enjoy this; if you have any questions or comments about it, feel free to let me know! ~ John Kelly  
  
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The clash of metal rang out as various metal items where knocked to the cold floor of the laboratory. "How the hell can you talk about going after the Emeralds after you saw what happened!?" The blue hedgehog yelled out in rage, his teeth gritted together. The man clad in red adjusted his small black spectacles and snorted, turning away and crossing his arms, slowly tapping his fingers clad in large white gloves against his elbows.  
  
"Look, I may be calm but that does not mean I am feeling any less grief for Miles as you are." Turning back to face Sonic, Eggman frowned. "We cannot let Mile's fate decide the fate of everything; right now the Chaos Emeralds are free reign for a new owner, and we must collect them all before G.U.A.R.D. re-claims them; or someone else decides that they wish to use the emeralds for themselves."  
  
Growling, Sonic stormed off up the stairs to the house's interior. "I need to be alone." He muttered, slamming the door of the lab open and turning back into the house.  
  
Eggman cursed to himself before typing in commands on the computer's terminal, brining up trajectories of items moving across the Earth's surface before suddenly stopping. Turning to the others in the room, he tilted his head towards the screen. "Hopefully you all are more together than Spike-Brain up there. We need to get these things back, and extremely quickly. Now... go get yourselves ready; we're heading out now."  
  
With that, the Red Echidna and White Bat nodded together and turned, running up and into the house. The Pink Hedgehog and Cream-Orange Bunny quickly followed the other two; signs of tears on their cheeks from the loss of their friend.  
  
Eggman stared up the stairs for a moment before closing his eyes and turning. Leaning forward he placed his hands on the computer terminal to hold himself up and sighed. "Forgive me Miles..." he muttered silently. His eyes suddenly shot open and he whipped his head up as an orange light began to flash on-screen and a small icon began moving across the Earth's surface. Staring in awe for a moment, Eggman pounded the terminal with a fist. "How in the hell!?" He cursed, beginning to type in commands to the system. He watched as the icon slowly moved towards a marked G.U.A.R.D. military facility. Eggman sighed; that facility was also used as an emergency touch-down base for G.U.A.R.D. Space military units. "If Mile's signal is heading there... they must have captured him.." Eggman breathed slowly, typing in more commands.  
  
He snorted and let out a laugh as he saw the heart-monitor and other vital signals begin moving; Miles was indeed alive. Wasting no time, Eggman rounded and sprinted off into the Lab, looking for a specific unit. Opening a blast-door, Eggman smirked and adjusted his glasses before running forward and jumping into freshly opened cockpit.  
  
Knuckles and Rouge ran out into the front yard and squinted their eyes, pulling their right arms up and shielding their faces from the dust that was blowing as large jets of air shot out from the ground. A massive mechanical noise roared and a large square of ground suddenly sank down before sliding back under the surrounding area, revealing a darkened launching bay.  
  
Amy and Cream appeared suddenly through the door, blocking the dust form their faces as well before screaming as a monstrous machine shot forth from the bay in the ground and flew up into the clouds. The large red robot's spiked tail hung straight back from the wind and its two large spiked disks on either side spun as it leveled out, banked, changed course and then proceeded in its new direction.  
  
Knuckles spat at the ground and narrowed his eyes. "He tells us to get ready then leaves without telling us where in the hell to go, what a plan." He growled.  
  
Slowly walking out of the house, the still enraged Sonic stared up into the air at the small dot that the robot now shown in the sky. "So, that fool went off by himself did he?"  
  
Rouge looked at Sonic out of the corner of her eye and curled her lip. "Look here Sonic, your anger is clouding your judgment. Eggman obviously has something up his sleeve, so why don't you take that attitude and shove it?"  
  
Sonic sneered and made to say something back before noticing Knuckle's fists clench and his spiked knuckles push outward. Sonic's fist shook enraged for a moment before he stormed back into the house. Rouge simply hmphed as Knuckles un-clenched his fists. "He's heading for trouble..." The Echidna spoke, closing his eyes and frowning. "Sonic has always been a hot-head."  
  
Rouge nodded and placed a gloved hand on Knuckle's shoulder, her eyes softening slightly. Knuckles slowly tilted his head and opened his eyes, staring into the Bat's before he turned towards her and placed a hand on her cheek. "You're one of the few sane people around here..." He spoke, forcing a smile.  
  
Rouge grinned slightly and ran her hand up Knuckle's neck. "You're the one with the most sense." She laughed, tilting her head back towards the house. "This is all driving us apart... and now we've lost Miles.." She winced slightly, her eyes watering gently. "He didn't deserve to go.."  
  
Knuckles slowly growled, looking up towards the contrail the machine had left. "I'm starting to wonder if Eggman did not indeed send Miles to his doom..."  
  
Miles acked as he was tossed into the small jail cell. Whimpering, he skittered to his feet and ran to the Jail cell door as it was slammed shut. Wrapping his small gloved fingers around the bars, Miles' ears sunk down and his eyes began to water. "Soooniiiic.." he whelped, pressing his muzzle between two bars. 


	7. Retrieval of Innocence

Notes: Whoo! Update! Not really much to say this time except to respond to something. Espina Oscura said that the only problem with this is that I keep referring to Tails as "Miles", his true name which is rarely or never used to my knowledge. The fact I am referring to Tails as Miles is simply personal preference and that Tails is slowly growing up, as is everyone else. Eventually I figure Tails would discard his nickname and go by his true name. For this reason I have decided to use Miles as his title in this story. I apologize, and do realize that Tails is what I probably should call him, but this is just simply one of the things I want to add to my story. I do appreciate your input though, so thank you very much. I hope you all continue to read and enjoy my story, it means a lot to have people appreciate my work. ~ John Kelly  
  
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The large metal bolts began to seer bright red before they exploded from their embedded domains in the wall, red flames spewing from behind as the entire panel quickly burned bright before exploding in a massive blast. An extremely concentrated ray of red shot through the flames and continued onward into the base, impacting the floor and causing the entire area to erupt in red, incinerating everything within the flash's immediate area and scolding everything outside of that.  
  
As the flames turned to smoke in the enormous gaping hole in the wall, neon-green lights lit up, shining through the smoke before the large robot shot through, smoke clinging to it for a moment before it erupted into the large room where G.U.A.R.D. mechs began unleashing barrages of artillery fire and missile-packs. The robot hung in the air for a moment, its spiked mechanical tail swirling before the two spinning disks lined with spikes on either side detached, rotated then shot forward into the troops, throwing the internal mechanics of any mech units they touched throughout the room and littering the area with sparks and mechanical fluids as the machines where slaughtered. A bright flash emitted from the front of the robot and another concentrated red laser shot forth, impacting the ground and eliminating all in the area before slicing across the room, cleaving robots to pieces and causing their immediate detonations.  
  
The man clad in red's black spectacles flashed with each explosion as he watched the monitors showing the combat on the outside of the robot. Eggman himself was protected within the cockpit of the machine, his fingers tapping buttons and his hands changing the tilt of joysticks as the spiked disks and lasers quickly ripped the entire room and all inhabitants to shreds.  
  
Eggman hmphed as the smoke in the room cleared, revealing the complete absence of anything besides himself. Tapping a recall button the two disks retreated back to their intended slots on either side of the robot and locked back on before he tilted both joysticks, causing the machine to begin flying down and through a large hallway, the former blast door completely ripped apart.  
  
"It would seem that G.U.A.R.D. was not ready for the Egg Viper... of course no-one had ever seen its power before besides Sonic.." Eggman chuckled as he tapped a button, the bright red flash and concentrated laser emitting from the front area of the machine and piercing a blast door ahead, melting it before obliterating it in a massive explosion, a second burst shook the military establishment as the laser continued forward and decimated waiting troops in the next room.  
  
Miles cringed and shook as he laid on the floor, his arms crossed over his head as pieces of the roof broke off with each impending blast. Opening his eyes he whelped as another blast rang out, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched hopelessly through the bars of his cell. Screaming, Miles shut his eyes as flames blasted past the bars; the door to the cell-block had passed by moments before, a red line propelling it forward as it was heated and melted in mid-air.  
  
Shivering in fear, Miles cried silently on the ground before he heard a familiar voice over a loud-speaker.  
  
"Hurry up and get in, we have to get out of here." Eggman yelled through the microphone to Miles, and the Fox's ears perked up. Looking up Miles immediately jumped up and ran for the opening cockpit of the Egg Viper, Eggman waving him to the added seat behind him. Twisting his tails violently Miles propelled himself up into the air then let himself fall into the cushioned backseat of the cockpit, the glass frame closing over- head before the nose of the machine slid back over, covering the cockpit and protecting it under the massive armor.  
  
Miles wiped the tears from his eyes as he smiled and buckled himself in, Eggman looking over his shoulder and chuckling. "I have to admit.. I thought you where dead." The man smirked, his mustache frizzling before he turned back to face the control systems of the robot. "Well... time to get you out of here." He spoke, his eyes narrowed as he tilted the joysticks and hit the thrust, turning the Egg Viper and causing it to burst back into the room, turning into the prior hallway, emitting into the beginning room before turning and banking upward. From the outside smoke slowly billowed from the gaping hole in the side of the military base before the smoke swelled into a boil, the boil erupting as the Egg Viper shot out and quickly gained altitude, the base quickly losing size behind as it continued to shoot upward.  
  
Miles closed his eyes and sighed in relief, unable to think of words for the current situation. His eyes simply opened with seriousness as Eggman let out a curse. "It seemed too easy..." Eggman sputtered, quickly pulling back on the thrust and banking the Egg Viper around in a circle before stopping it in the air and hovering silently, the gentle whirl of the spiked disks on either side knocking away the moisture of the passing clouds as the Egg Viper stared out at the massive white form of what seemed to be an enormous fighter jet. The large fighter's lower-thrusters shot blue flames forth quietly as it hovered opposite the red machine, its blue and yellow trim blending against the deep blue of the sea underneath.  
  
The Jet was fairly stream-lined, looking very similar to most fighters but for the two large spheres located where the wings met the frame. Eggman's eyes narrowed as he reached up and slid down his mechanical goggles over his glasses. "Ready yourself..." he spoke calmly back to Miles. "This... is going to get rough." At those words, Eggman hit the thrust and the Egg Viper shot forward, its disks detaching and slicing through the sky ahead. 


	8. Clash of the Aerial Arc

Notes: Wow, another chapter so soon? Yey! ^^; Anyways, hope you all enjoy this one. It's my first actual like... battle-scene, so I hope I wasn't to redundant with my explanations and such. I want to strongly urge No-One to duplicate the shield that the enemy fighter uses. This is my own design and I came up with it, so I don't want anyone else taking credit for it or using it. Period. Sorry if I'm coming across rude or paranoid, but I don't want anyone ripping off my stuff. Anyway, thanks for reading! ~ John Kelly  
  
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A massive electrical hum rang out and electrical sparks erupted as the two large spiked disks where knocked away, the large red robot pulling up at the last moment, sparks blasting across its underside as it shot straight up into the air.  
  
"What In The Hell Was That!?" Eggman yelled through gritted teeth as he leveled out the Egg Viper and banked it to the left, rounding as the two spiked disks flew back and re-attached themselves to either side.  
  
"It's a new type of shield.. It uses massive electrical energy to deflect other objects. Missiles don't work because the electricity overloads them and they detonate before ever reaching their target. I'm assuming that the overwhelming amount of electrons is such a shock to materials that it throws them off-course as well." Miles spoke from the back seat, leaning forward and beginning to scan the enemy ship for data. Nodding, he pointed down at a small screen and Eggman groaned.  
  
"So then, We'll just try THIS!" Eggman yelled as he clicked the trigger-fire on both joysticks, brilliant flashes of red light emitting from the tip of the Egg Viper as concentrated lasers burst forth, piercing the air itself as they shot towards their intended target. The enemy fighter's wings suddenly detached before a large amount of electric sparks arced between the wings and the large black spheres. The wings suddenly pivoted in mid-air, and the fighter's thrusters busted out blue flames as the wings guided it in a downward spiral, the two laser beams flying past where the fighter had been only a second before.  
  
"Damn that thing is fast!" Eggman snorted, jamming the joysticks forward and to the side, arcing the Egg Viper to face down, causing the lasers to begin moving after the speeding fighter. As the lasers neared their target, the blue flames of the jet's thrusters where suddenly engulfed in an outer thrust of yellow; the jet tripling its speed and leaving the lasers behind.  
  
Eggman growled and cut off the lasers, slamming the thrust and banking the Egg Viper down, quickly speeding after the enemy. As they slowly gained on the fighter, Miles screamed out, "STOP!!" Eggman's hand quickly pulled back on the thrust just as the fighter was engulfed in electrical sparks before dozens of hatches all over the jet's outer-armor popped open and released a near-hundred missiles, all of which immediately began flying towards the Egg Viper.  
  
Eggman's knuckles turned white under his gloves as he smashed down on the top buttons of the two joysticks with his thumbs and gripped the joysticks firmly. Both spiked disks quickly detached and flew forth, the missiles slowly closing into each other as they sped towards the Egg Viper. The two disks began to spin more rapidly before the missiles impacted them, massive explosions emitting and smoke billowing out into the air, blocking all views. Smoke swelled down before one of the disks dropped down, gaping holes in all sides as smoke was trailed along its path to the shimmering water below.  
  
The other disks suddenly billowed back form the smoke and latched back onto the Egg Viper as a large splash rang out from below. Scowling, Eggman banked the Egg Viper and began to circle around the large amount of smoke. Seeing the fighter engulf itself in sparks while still flying away, Eggman jammed the Thrust and shot forward once again after it. Banking slightly, Eggman brought the Egg Viper to the side of the jet, leaving a few hundred feet between the two. Smashing the cockpit button, the nose of the robot slid forward and the cockpit frame opened up, wind suddenly blasting in and causing Miles to let out a yelp as Eggman ripped his restraints off and reached down below the pilot's seat. Standing up, Eggman hauled a bazooka onto his shoulder and stood for a moment, a goggled eye peering through the site before he clicked the ignition trigger. Black smoke billowed from the rear of the shaft as the re-coil kicked in and the rocket blasted out of the tip, streaking through the sky and leaving a trail of blackness before it shed its out layer of armor, small guidance wings slicing out on all sides as the nose elongated and split into four, the center of the rocket opening and revealing an air-intake as it quickly turned on, the rocket gaining a massive amount of speed as it barreled towards the rear of the fighter.  
  
"High-speed rocket, it has a very good piercing capability..." Eggman spoke, staring after the rocket as sparks spewed from the front, the rocket coming within a few feet of the jet's thrusters before it shorted and detonated, the explosion frying the back armor of the fighter and knocking out one of its three large thrusters.  
  
Spiraling downward, the fighter's yellow thrust cut out and it began leveling out before electrical arcs emitted, followed by more missiles. Slamming the reload bay shut, Eggman leaned out of the cockpit and clicked the ignition trigger, the missile barreling out and shooting back where the Egg Viper had come from. The missile quickly banked and began heading towards the Jet, missing the impending missiles as it shed its armor and struck one of the black spheres, knocking off the right wing of the fighter before Eggman kicked the Egg Viper into an emergency dive, closing the cockpit and jettisoning the last Disk into the pack of on-coming missiles, all but a few being immediately destroyed while simultaneously vaporizing the disk. Eggman cursed and Miles covered his head as the impact of three missiles rocked the cockpit, all of the lights and screens flickering as smoke began to trail from the massive wounds received.  
  
Pulling back on the joysticks, the Egg Viper slowly pulled up and Eggman had to smirk as he watched one of the wings of the Jet plummet into the sea. "One down." Eggman chuckled, banking the Egg Viper around for a final assault. Miles leaned forward and slapped his hand on the cockpit button, the Nose sliding forward and the frame rising, filling the cockpit with blasting air currents as Miles grasped the Bazooka and un-hooked himself from his restraints.  
  
"Keep Him Busy!" Miles yelled out as he jumped up and began spinning his tails at a high velocity, his small body shooting up into the sky as Eggman nodded and pulled the Egg Carrier around, unleashing a volley of laser blasts. The Jet went into an awkward dive, dodging all but one of the blasts which clipped another thruster off of the fighter. As the fighter began plummeting down to the Sea, unable to carry itself in its weakened state, its shield went down for a final time. As the dozens of hatches on all sides opened up, a sudden flash followed by a trail of smoke shot forth, impacting the jet right in the center of its framework, all of the missiles which had been exiting the hatches detonating from the blast of the rocket, flash-frying the outside of the fighter and ripping it to shreds.  
  
Eggman let out a loud laugh as he pulled his goggles back onto his forehead and turned the Egg Viper in the direction of the flash. After accelerating then decelerating, Miles plopped down into the co-pilot's seat and set the Bazooka aside, closing his eyes and panting as the cockpit slid shut. Smirking, Eggman looked back over his shoulder. "Nice work Miles... You saved our asses for sure." Chuckling, Eggman banked the Egg Viper on a course for home as Miles smiled gently and let out a slight laugh.  
  
"I'm just glad to you came.." Miles began, opening his eyes and staring at Eggman with watery oculars.  
  
Eggman nodded and sighed. "I felt like it was my fault you got in the position you where in. I felt it was my duty alone to come and get you." Tilting his head and looking over his shoudler, he smirked, his large mustache spiking out. "I hate to trouble you, but rest up on the way back. Once we return, we're going after the Chaos Emeralds." 


	9. The Long Road Ahead

The blue hedgehog's spikes whipped rapidly in the jet-created wind, clear tear-drops spilling form his tightly shut eyes as he clung to the orange fox tightly, the fox's eyes closed as well as he sniffed back his own tears.  
  
The large red machine finally touched down and large mechanisms locked it into place before the massive thrusters slowly shut down and the man clad in red jumped out of the opened cockpit. Adjusting his glasses, Eggman watched as a Pink Hedgehog, Cream-orange Rabbit, Red Echidna and White Bat ran into the laboratory. Amy and Cream both had tears accompanying them as they latched themselves to Sonic and Miles. Knuckles and Rouge stopped a few feet away from the group-hug and Knuckles close his eyes, lowering his head and laughing to himself with a smirk of seeming embarrassment.  
  
"I should've known you had survived..." Knuckles began, raising his head and opening his eyes to give Miles a confident smile. Miles slowly turned around after Sonic released him and giggled slightly, nodding in response.  
  
Letting out a sigh, Sonic crossed his arms and tilted his head towards Eggman. "Guess I owe you an apology... even if you're the one who sent him up there." Sonic slowly muttered.  
  
Snorting, Eggman turned away and walked over to a computer consol. "We don't have time for a reunion..." Eggman began. "Incase you all so conveniently forgot, the Seven Chaos Emeralds are still scattered around the world..." Tapping a gloved finger on the monitor, Eggman adjusted his glasses. "Now... I've tracked the flight-paths of every Emerald from the second they left ARK, to the second they impacted the Earth."  
  
Tapping a few keys on the control-board, the monitor flashed up seven different colored ripples, all scattered across the face of the world-map. "As lucky as it might seem, the fact that Four out of the Seven Chaos Emeralds landed in extremely populated areas makes getting them as soon as possible crucial..." Tapping the computer monitor, Eggman turned his head to face the others and raised a brow, tilting his head at the computer. "Tokyo Japan, Cairo Egypt, Sydney Australia, San Francisco California United States..." Hrmphing, Eggman looked back to the computer.  
  
Sonic groaned, and Knuckles, who was next to Rouge, slowly placed a hand over his eyes and lowered his head. Miles' tails slowly swished and he narrowed his eyes at the screen. Rouge, patting Knuckles on the back, turned and stared intently at the computer monitor. "I know the most about the United states, I'll have the easiest time in California." Knuckles let his hand down to his side and nodded.  
  
Eggman furrowed his brow and tapped the computer screen. "The other three Chaos Emeralds are located in remote places... Heh.. Should be remote, since two are in the Ocean." Looking back to the others, Eggman made an odd smirk, causing his massive mustache to stick out more than usual. "The final Chaos Emerald is located in North America... the United States, Alaska... the emerald fell somewhere near Mt McKinley."  
  
Hitting his massive fists together, Knuckles took a step forward. "I have a lot of experience with remote locations.. I'll snag that emerald." Looking over his shoulder, Knuckles watched Sonic take a step forward. "That emerald landed in Sydney?"  
  
To everyone's surprise, Eggman shrugged. "Actually, it is estimated it landed in Sydney. But, my satellites where not positioned in the correct areas at the time to track the emerald exactly... so it could be anywhere within a few hundred miles of Sydney..."  
  
Snapping his fingers, Sonic nodded. "I'll tag that Emerald... I can cover a huge amount of distance in a short time, I can find it the quickest." Sonic blinked as Miles walked forward and pointed at the island off of the coast of China, a green ripple emitting from the map.  
  
"I'll go to Tokyo... I know robotics and have the best shot at getting past the large amount of technological security that could be present there."  
  
Eggman laughed and turned back to the screen. "We'll save the emeralds in the oceans for last; I highly doubt anyone is going to get their hands on those. As for Cairo... I have a base located in Egypt, I can get supplies there and recover that emerald with ease."  
  
Amy humphed and Cream blinked, looking up to the pink hedgehog. "Oh, I see how it is. All of you get to go out on your adventures once again while you leave me to do nothing!"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Sonic turned and moved a hand in a gesturing motion. "Look Amy... this could be seriously dangerous... most likely G.U.A.R.D. is already after the emeralds, and their machines are hundreds of times more advanced than G.U.N.'s where..."  
  
Curling her lip for a moment, Amy let her shoulders down and tossed her head back, closing her eyes and groaning. "FINE." she shouted, turning and storming off, an extended hand grasping Cream's arm caused the rabbit to meep before she was pulled along out of the laboratory.  
  
Sighing, Sonic looked around and nodded. "Well... let's all get going then.." And with a nod, everyone turned their separate ways.  
  
A quick blue and orange blur hot out from a newly exposed hatch as the Tornado II with Miles and Sonic present ascended into the clouds. "I'll drop you off at Australia, then head for Tokyo.." Miles yelled over the screaming of the wind, and Sonic yelled out an ok in response.  
  
Another hidden underground hatch opened, and a lightning-fast gray flash emitted, shooting up into the sky. The Egg Hornet banked, changed course, then headed off. "This could prove very difficult if someone decides to interfere..." Eggman muttered as he watched the instruments of the Egg Hornet co-inside with the changing altitude and winds.  
  
A large blast of pneumatic steam blasted into the air as a hatch on top of the house opened and a small red trail pierced through the air and flew high into the sky. Breaking out of the spin, Knuckles threw his legs back and his arms out, his dreadlocks catching the wind as well as his body as he began to glide. "... If there wasn't so much at stake leaving them out there, I would just as soon leave the Chaos Emeralds... what is going to happen once we retrieve them... and get rid of them forever..?" Knuckles' eyes narrowed even more than they had been from the wind, and he continued off.  
  
A monstrous rumble rang out from the house and the garage door slowly began sliding up. Smoke slowly began moving out of the garage before a loud screech emitted and a long white sports car ripped out of the house, taking a precise turn and shooting off down the road, pushing a hundred and twenty. The wind blowing her hair and ears back, Rouge stared forward at the road intently through her goggles. "So far this plan has gone from bad to worse... will retrieving the emeralds really restore the world to order and get rid of evil once and for all like Sonic and the others are saying...?" Rouge slowly tilted her head and stared up at the sky longingly; The blue, red, and gray streaks in the air slowly moving against the white clouds. Looking up, seemingly through the sky itself and into space, Rouge sighed. "... and we never asked... what in the hell happened on ARK?" 


	10. The Trails of Fate

Notes: Right before I write another chapter, I usually re-read or skim through the previous one to make sure what happened last is fresh in my mind. Well... this makes it very apparent that Spell check won't notice when you're an idiot. Oh sure, it tells you when the word is spelled wrong. But it doesn't let you know when you use the WRONG ONE. Obvious reason for checking your work. Anyway, I want to apologize for all the "form"s that meant "from". I'm just kind of... well... yea, lazy. Also I usually write these about 30 minutes before I get online and upload them, and so if I do proofread it, it's usually so fresh in my mind that I remember what I wrote, and I don't notice the incorrect word because I know what's "supposed" to be there. Oh well, hope you all are enjoying! John Kelly  
  
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The sky shone deep purple as the sun was rising in the distance, the black navy of the ocean shimmering streaks of orange. The Blue Hedgehog's eyes where narrowed from the blasts of wind as the Tornado II streaked through the air, the Orange Fox piloting the plane staring ahead, watching for signs of land.  
  
"So... it looked like me?" Sonic yelled out, breaking the verbal silence in the defining roar of air.  
  
Nodding slowly, Miles looked down at the Ocean before responding. "Yea, it looked a lot like you." Sonic looked down at the water slowly moving past far below.  
  
"Well... it sure as hell WASN'T me." Sonic yelled, looking ahead once more.  
  
Miles snorted slightly, "That much I was sure of. But... I don't understand... Sonic, who was it?" Miles arched a brow and looked back over his shoulder. Looking into the Fox's eyes, Sonic shrugged.  
  
"... It doesn't make any sense..." Sonic's eyes suddenly filled with an expression of someone who had seen a ghost, and Miles' eyes widened. "Unless..." Sonic muttered, and Miles turned back, hitting the thrust and propelling the Tornado II forward.  
  
Lights blinked on in the cold dark depths of the hallways, the walls lined with Egyptian hieroglyphics and gold designs. The large metal door shuddered before sliding open, and the Man Clad in Red stepped through, eyeing the room through black spectacles. A large flash of blue sparks shot out from the wall, and Eggman blinked, noting the huge amount of damage that was apparent. "What in the heck...?" he arched a brow, striding over and tapping the keypad on the corresponding blast door.  
  
As the door slid open, the attempts of the lights to turn on where only successful in throwing large amounts of sparks from the ceiling. Raising an arm and shielding himself, Eggman crouched slightly as he slowly walked in, stepping over fallen ducts and computers. Looking to the wall, he saw the enormous line of large neon-green glass tubes lined against the wall. Blinking, Eggman saw the shattered glass of two of the green tubes; nothing remained inside. Eyeing the room, other tubes where broken as well, but robot units remained; some ripped to shreds.  
  
His eyes widening, Eggman stepped back, his back becoming straight as he stared in horror. "My God..." he mouthed, sweat trickling down the side of his face as he turned and raced out of the room.  
  
The Red Echidna's eyes where closed and his teeth gritted as he groaned, the cold searing wind slicing at him. He had his right arm held in front of his face to protect himself as he glided through the storm of snow and ice. "Damn it all!" Knuckles cursed out, wincing and opening his eyes. "Who would've thought I'd run into such a storm at this time...?" Punching forward, he continued onward, his entire body numb from the cold.  
  
Glancing down through the black clouds, Knuckles could barely make out the soft, dark outlines of the mountains below, their entire monstrous bodies covered in the soft white of snow. The clouds above parted slightly and a brilliant blast of light shone through, causing Knuckles to shut his eyes and lose control for a moment. Cursing and beginning to tumble through the air, Knuckles decided, and with a downward punch, he accelerated through the clouds towards the frigid plains below.  
  
Letting out a loud curse and slapping her hand on the top frame of the windshield, the White Bat pulled her goggles up onto her forehead and made a rude gesture with her hand. "Get The Hell Out of My Way!!" Rouge screamed, jamming her palm on the horn of her sports car, which was sitting dead-still in traffic. "Fucking Los Angeles, You People Can't Drive Worth Crap!!" Rouge fell back down into the driver's seat and closed her eyes, groaning and throwing her head back. "I could've been there by now if it wasn't for this..." Moaning loudly, Rouge threw herself forward and laid her head on the steering wheel.  
  
The cold of the night touched the dusty plains as dust began to whip up, traveling in a line as it picked up speed, lose dirt being thrown away as the Tornado II lost altitude and leveled out a few feet above the ground. With a nod, Miles waved, and Sonic jumped out, his feet taking off as he hit the ground. Sonic dropped back before he kicked in full-throttle and shot forward, his speed matching the Tornado II as it banked to the side and took off into the cold morning air. Sonic leaned forward, threw his arms back, and shot off across the plains.  
  
Staring forward, Sonic tossed his head to get rid of dirt. "I'll start with Sydney... maybe someone at least SAW where it went, if not knows where it is." Gritting his teeth, Sonic sped up even more. "And if I'm right... that son of a bitch never changed at all..." Growling, Sonic jumped over a log and continued on his path towards the twinkling lights of the city in the far distance. "Well, I'll be damned if I let you win, Shadow." 


	11. Shadows in the Night

Notes: I wrote like.. More than I usually write in a chapter. I didn't want to wait to put the ending of this chapter in another chapter, but I'm hoping I didn't start losing my touch halfway through. Comment if you feel the need to, it's much appreciated. John Kelly  
  
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The cold and wet, frozen white powder crushed under the weight of the Red Echidna's feet as he trudged through the snow, cold jets of air blasting rain, sleet and snow into his face. Chilled to the bone, Knuckles groaned loudly; only a soft noise in the howling winds. "Crap... How-Much- More-Can-There-BE!?" Looking around from under his arm, Knuckles peered at the snow-covered plains, bordered on all sides by mountains, capped in white. The black and gray storm clouds where barely visible now from the continuous rain of white snow.  
  
Taking a step forward, Knuckle's eyes widened as he felt the ground give way more than it should. A loud curse and ply to jump back where consumed by the sudden collapse of the earth, and Knuckles found himself falling down a deep icy crevasse, amongst the chaos of broken ice and snow that had once concealed it. His eyes closed as he tumbled downward, Knuckles' stomach sank and he cursed himself. "Is this it..?" The Echidna thought to himself, feeling the air condense as the sides of the crevasse began to close together the farther he fell.  
  
A white figure clad in tight black leather, her gentle blue eyes staring into his mind suddenly flashed, and Knuckle's eyes shot open. Teeth gritted, he threw his body against the spin and sliced out with his massive knuckles, digging them into the ice as his body snapped back up. Suspended against the wall, Knuckles peered down the deep hole, and stared in awe as the walls on either side continued to move in until deep down, there was no more than a foot between them.  
  
Teeth gritted, sweat dripped down Knuckles' face, despite the cold, as he stared in terror. "... I would've been stuck in that..." he muttered. Closing his eyes tightly, he shook his head before looking up with determination. "Time to get the hell out of this thing." Pulling himself up, Knuckles slashed his other pair of knuckles into the ice, before slipping his first pair out and slashing them in above the others. Repeating this process, the Echidna slowly climbed his way up towards the black sky above.  
  
The Blue Hedgehog hrmmed to himself as he slowly walked down the sidewalk, skyscrapers towering above. Smaller buildings where passed by as Sonic made his way to the coastline. "Sydney is pretty big.." Sonic thought, his eyes darting all around, looking for any signs that might lead to the emerald he was after.  
  
Coming across the docks, Sonic peered up and down them, looking around. Noting a large amount of fishing boats, Sonic shrugged to himself. "Guess it's possible it fell in the sea... could always check if anyone's dragged it up." Turning, Sonic made his way towards the boats. Stopping, Sonic arched a brow as his eyes caught the sight of a young boy, his clothes tattered; probably from working on the boat he was currently unloading traps from. Shrugging, Sonic strode up to the boat and rested an arm on the side, leaning forward and placing his weight on the boat. "Yo kid... happen to have seen any-" Sonic's eyes shot open and he fell back as the boy had turned and yelled out.  
  
"You're Finally Back!!" Sonic blinked for a moment before looking around uneasily.  
  
"Uhm.." Sonic muttered, before the Boy's bright expression slipped.  
  
"Wait... you're blue.." The boy blinked, tilting his head and staring at Sonic for a moment. "You're not my friend.."  
  
Sonic forced an odd smile and scratched his head. "Sorry kid... listen, would you of happened to have seen a large blue gem? It would be cut, not just a large hunk of material.."  
  
The boy's eyes widened slightly, and he looked away for a moment before looking at Sonic through the corner of his eye, fear apparent in his eyes. "And why would you want to know...?"  
  
Sonic's mouth curled as he frowned slightly and he narrowed his eyes. "Listen kid... I don't have time to be explaining stuff. I need that gem, have you seen it?"  
  
"What's your name?" the boy asked quickly.  
  
"Sonic" he replied simply.  
  
The boy blinked for a moment, before his face lightened up and he smiled. "You mean you're Sonic The Hedgehog!? I've heard all sorts of stories about you! You saved the world from that thing up in space!!" Jumping over the side of the boat and onto the dock, the boy extended his hand and smiled enthusiastically.  
  
Grinning embarrassedly, Sonic took the boy's hand and gave a quick shake before pulling back. "So... uhm... have you seen it?" The boy blinked for a moment, and Sonic kept himself from slapping his own forehead in frustration. "The large gem." Sonic reminded him.  
  
The boy blinked again for a moment, before seeming to snap back into reality. "Oh yes! We found it a few days ago, really late at night. My friend said it was really important, so he convinced my dad to go out and bring it up! Luckily it wasn't very deep." The boy smiled and nodded towards the boat. "My friend told me not to give it to anyone... but you're Sonic! Obviously you have a good reason to need it."  
  
Sonic felt a bead of sweat drip down his face. "This kid is kind of odd... pretty damned trusting though," he thought to himself. The boy ran into the boat, and Sonic blinked for a moment.  
  
Looking up from the crate he had been sitting on, Sonic's eyes lit up as he saw the boy holding the glowing blue gem. "I'll be damned..." Sonic smirked, jumping up and running over to the boy.  
  
Smiling brightly, the boy turned the emerald in his hands before handing it to Sonic. "My name is Phillip, sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner."  
  
Laughing slightly, Sonic tossed the emerald up and caught it on its way down before shrugging. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Listen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get back with this thing... so.." Sonic looked off for a moment before tilting his head and looking back. "Thanks for not giving me any trouble kid."  
  
Phillip nodded and smiled before looking out over the Tasman Sea. Looking out as well, Sonic groaned; he had spent all day wandering the streets of the city, and now he realized by the sunset that it was nearly dark. Looking back to the city, Sonic snorted. "It will be hard to find a way back now that I think about it... I can get a hold of Eggman but it will take him awhile to come for me."  
  
Laughing, Phillip waved a hand in dismissal and tilted his head back, smiling towards the boat. "You can sleep on the boat, or on the dock here for the night if you want! It's very safe, I sleep outdoors all the time!" Grinning broadly, Phillip ran to the boat and grabbed a fairly large amount of netting. Unfolding it, Sonic saw that it was indeed a hammock. As Phillip strung the Hammock up next to the boat, Sonic shrugged before smiling.  
  
"Guess it wouldn't hurt to stay... Sure, why not? Do you have a phone I can use by chance?" Phillip nodded and pointed down the docks to a payphone rigged up on a telephone pole. Waving, Sonic ran down the docks to the phone.  
  
The White Bat let out a long sigh as she slipped her goggles up onto her forehead and closed her eyes, leaning back in the driver's seat of her car. Looking off into the distance, she smiled at the ocean, clad in darkness. "Well, took me long enough, but I finally made it." Yawning, Rouge placed a hand over her mouth before closing her eyes and kicking back. "I'll just take a short nap and then start up in a little while.. Not like we're really in a rush, G.U.A.R.D. still isn't too organized down here on Earth, and there's no one else after the Emeralds..."  
  
"What?" Sonic asked through the receiver, looking off at the now blackened sea.  
  
"We have a serious problem... two extremely dangerous devices are missing from my lab..." Eggman's voice rang out through the speaker into Sonic's ear.  
  
Groaning, Sonic closed his eyes and placed a hand over his forehead. "Did someone steal them?"  
  
"I can't tell, all of the systems are still re-booting from being shut down, and I cannot get a log file or damage reports."  
  
"Well, while that stuff is loading, come out here and get me." Sonic peered over at the hammock set up for him through spread fingers, and he sighed. "I'm not one for hammocks..."  
  
Eggman's voice was silent for a moment before he responded. "Will do, be ready in about five hours. I'll be there then." A click signaled that Eggman had hung up, and Sonic put the phone back down, turning and slowly walking back to the hammock, falling back into it and sighing as he leaned back. "I can't stand these things..." He muttered, before he felt the sudden urge to sleep overtake him.  
  
Bright neon lights blared out, large Television screens suspended in the air played commercials for sodas and clothes as the small figure stood silently in the opening of a dark back-alley. Slowly tilting his head up, the white muzzle of the Orange Fox poked out from under the navy-blue baseball cap, his soft blue eyes reflecting the various lights like pools as he slowly took a step out into the bright lights of the street. Looking up at the pitch-black night sky, Miles was surprised how active the area was. "... sure is a lot going on.." he muttered to himself as he began walking down the street, peering out from under the brim of his hat, looking for clues. "... This... might take awhile.." Miles sighed as he watched all of the people on the street, some appearing slightly tipsy, while others where just out enjoying the nightlife.  
  
Arghing and slapping both hands on his forehead, Miles cursed. "Why'd I pick this place? It's freaking HUGE! And who knows where the hell that thing went..." Blinking, Miles looked up at the large neon sign with a diamond on it. Japanese characters shone in red under the picture as Miles shrugged and placed a hand against the door handle. "Guess this is as good a place as any to start..."  
  
Sonic's eyes shot open, his green oculars reflecting the brilliant dancing of flames. Sonic jumped up, horror-stricken as he viewed the Boat so close to him engulfed in flames. As the body of the boat slowly sank down into the water, Sonic made an ill attempt to run forward, but slid to a stop as the boat sank beneath the black depths, wreckage and some of the surrounding dock the only things still aflame.  
  
His eye twitching, Sonic gripped the Chaos Emerald firmly in his hand before a sinister laugh emitted from above. Looking up, Sonic stumbled backwards, staring in horror as he saw the bright red eyes staring right back at him. The black figure of a hedgehog, almost identical to himself in shape, stood atop one of the telephone poles, thin wisps of smoke trailing from the hand it lowered as he turned to a stance, emitting another chuckle.  
  
Sonic growled, sliding a foot back and preparing to launch himself upward. "You fucking coward... how dare you attack innocent people like that!?"  
  
The black shape of the hedgehog slowly moved an arm forward, and the palm of its hand became engulfed in green flames. Groaning, Sonic made to dodge, but his eyes shot down towards the docks, where a quick blurr of blackness was shooting towards the pole, blood red eyes reflecting the remaining flames as the figure shot up towards the hedgehog atop the pole. Arghing, the hedgehog was knocked from its perch by the figure, and both plummeted into the cold black sea.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Sonic decided, and turned, shooting off down the docks. Looking up into the sky, Sonic heard the loud roar of engines, and he turned out onto a pier. Stopping at the end, Sonic watched as the Egg Hornet lowered itself over the water. The new two-person cockpit Eggman had installed opened up, and Sonic jumped in, the Hornet immediately taking off. The cockpit sliding shut, Eggman hit the thrust and they shot off into the night, just as Sonic looked back to see a large yellow explosion and two black figures battling on the docks.  
  
Turning back over the seat, Eggman groaned. "What, in the HELL, was all That about!?"  
  
Sonic, still staring down at the city as it grew steadily smaller, sighed and closed his eyes. "... I think it's an old friend of yours." Opening his eyes, Sonic turned and stared coldly at Eggman. "So, why don't YOU tell me what the Hell is going on? I thought Shadow was Dead." 


End file.
